Perspective Shift

"The Ki Process: Korean Secrets for Cultivating Dynamic Energy" is a book I picked up a few years ago. I've reviewed it before on other websites, but it is a significant piece in my book collection so I thought I would review it here as well. It's definitely one of my favorite books, not so much so for it's format but for the information it offers.

The book is written by Scott Shaw and was published in 1997. From what I can tell of the author he is fairly well learned on the subject matter and has written other similar books, as well as articles on various people and subjects. This book was to my knowledge the first actual book I picked up involving this subject, besides some general meditation books, and though it's not written in what I would call "plain speak language" it offers a lot of valuable material and gets straight to the point.

The book begins as expected, first luring you into the subject matter by discussing it's cultural origins and of course explaining the idea of "Ki."It states that Ki is a universal, not a personal energy, which is funny to me because so many other sources state otherwise. Perhaps either the message on their part was portrayed wrong, or my understanding of what was being said was just flawed. Either way, the book goes on to say that, though it's not a personal energy, "it can be consciously received, focalized, and isolated, thereby bringing it into the realm of personal usage when the physical or mental need arises." To me it just seems as if the idea of it being universal doesn't quite fit, if this is the case.

Why? Well, if it's a universal energy, how does that not incorporate the universes inhabitants? The book details that it can only be harnessed because "there is no savings account in the human body for Ki." This just doesn't fit though, considering later in the book they discusses Meridians, and the Tan Jun, otherwise referred to as the Dan Tien. The book describes this location as "the body's natural center of gravity" and that "it is also the physical location from which Ki is dispersed throughout the human form." So... Uh... Are we confused yet? Fear not, from my interpretations the book just failed to emphasize early on that Ki, is said to be a working energy on our plane of existence and can be used as such, yet it's actual location isn't on our plane and is located on a more spiritual plane of existence. That it simply trickles down to us and we use it from there. We also get it from the food we eat and the air we breathe (they do state this later on in the book, however).I just think they should have stressed that a lot more early on.

The book continues by discussing exactly what the Meridians are, prior to actually getting down into the practice and exercises. About the first half of the book is historical information and meridian discussion. This part I actually had to read twice (although I referred back to the book several times for it's exercises) to get a firm understanding of what it was they were talking about. Not that it was written poorly, just that the concepts went kind of over my head at the original time of purchasing the book.

The meridians are said to be "channels or highly defined pathways inside the human form along which Ki travels." Essentially they are suppose to work like veins, transporting the energy from point A to point B inside of the body. The Body being the metaphysical form of our body, not necessarily the physical body, although these meridians and the energy flowing through them have a direct affect on our physical health and wellness. There are 12 "primary" or "constant" meridians, that have a nonstop circulation of Ki energy through them in a constant and continual path.

The meridians they describe are; The Gal bladder Meridian, Liver Meridian, Lung Large Intestine Meridian, Stomach Meridian, Spleen/Pancreas Meridian, Heart Meridian, Small Intestine Meridian, Bladder Meridian, Kidney Meridian, and the final two "constant" meridians are suppose to relate to the general control of bodily functions, as described by the book. These are The Heart Constrictor Meridian, which dominates the continual flow of blood throughout the body, and the Triple Warmer Meridian, which controls the energy of respiration. After these, there is said to be two other meridians which also aid in the control of circulate of Ki throughout the body, and these are the Conceptual Meridian, and the Governing Vessel Meridian, nether of which are said to possess a direct relationship to a specific body organ and are not an integral element of the body's primary Ki circulatory system.

Just explaining that is a mouthful, the book offers some extremely detailed pictures that are great if you are interested in using energy work to "explore" these meridians yourself. They close this particular section by touching on acupuncture, which was kind of intriguing because I suppose acupuncture works based on this knowledge of meridians and their key points, and trying to free any potential blockages. Based on physical problems you can know which meridian may be blocked and need freeing to release that energy and aid in the circulation, to improve the issue. It's a fun topic to say the least, even more so for anyone interested in healing of any kind.

From here they just talk about how your diet plays a roll and then finally practical applications. They discusses "mudras," which are movements or particular signs made with the hands for meditation aids. They give you various exercises for internal and external Ki development and energy work. It's probably my favorite section of the book, especially at the time of getting it. i actually began using the exercises prior to reading the other "boring" stuff at the time. Now I'm more interested in that "boring" stuff because I learned the exercises. Funny how that works. They give you a few meditations, the most famous being the Four Phase Breath. I would definitely recommend this for anyone interested in energy work, they give you exercises for each body part as well as concentration exercises, and are very detailed in their explanations, and they offer pictures.

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in Ki, Traditional Energy Development, or just looking for a good read on meditation or who wants to brush up on their vocabulary and knowledge base. It is written in a more technical way than inviting and relaxing, which makes it kind of irritating to read from time to time. Not a very "home" like feel to it, but it's advantageous in this situation as it allows you to get the information right away, as opposed to carrying you down a long road of anticipation and useless rambling. I didn't find anything in the book that seemed opinion oriented and they just kept the "facts" and information. Pretty much why I bought the book in the first place.

Buy It